If you were to ask me to name one artist that is at the forefront of punk rock, I’d have to say Jeff Rosenstock. It’s not just that he makes fresh, interesting, relevant, progressive pop punk, it’s also that his whole approach to making music is commendable. The man puts out his music for free, for God’s sake. And even though at times his music seems to be getting ahead of itself, there’s no denying there’s something...

Miles Davis Sorcerer (Vinyl Me Please) Jazz is like art to me. I don’t understand it, I think it’s pretentious and I think it hasn’t been good for decades, but I know what I like when I experience it. What’s a person like me to do? It’s been more than a decade that I decided to give jazz a shot and I haven’t looked back since. I have my favorite artists, albums, and songs. I have no idea what makes...

Obnox Niggative Approach Finding new music can be a daunting thing. There’s so much of it and most of it is bad. And, conventional news outlets are either snobby or just flat-out-wrong (not us, of course). So if you want to be exposed to good new music, there’ a few things you can do. First, always take the advice of friends. Second, stick to a magazine that caters to your sensibilities. Third, dip into the releases of a label you...

Bloodshot Bill & Shannon Shaw “Honey Time” 7 Inch EP Every now and then, the stars align just right to give us something unique and special. That’s exactly the thought that goes through my head when I think of the Bloodshot Bill and Shannon Shaw split 7” Honey Time. For those not in the know, this 7 inch is a fitting and peculiar union of songwriters. Bloodshot Bill is a honky-tonk madman and, as Jon Spencer said, the hardest working...

Howlin’ Wolf Best of the Sun Records Sessions Are you serious about music? We are. So much so that we consider it homework. It’s not enough to enjoy the music, but also to understand where it came from: to trace it and pinpoint references. Forget what people say about appropriation: good art is all about combining influences and making something new; it’s all about bottom-up expression. This is why it’s important to go back and understand the sources....

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Vamos’ 1, 2, 3 LP. The problem with every great music revival is that, as energizing and exciting as it might be, there’s a certain safety and security in knowing that the ideas involved have worked before and can work again in a walk – if enough people believe in it. Such thought processes have worked well several times over in the last twenty-five years, and it would be easy to figure...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the This American Blues LP by Ford Madox Ford. Remember a couple of decades ago when, against some fairly long odds, The Blasters managed to cross-wire punk rock and Americana/roots music? The results were pretty cool – the group actually did manage to break onto the popular radar for a minute (with some help from Quentin Tarantino and the soundtrack from From Dusk Til Dawn), but basically remained pretty niche because punk...

Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits by Bertrand Russell Look, we love Bertrand Russell, OK? And that love is easy to find on Ground Control. Every year we take a chance to read and discuss his books and we’re pleasantly surprised at how they’re unique, witty, and enlightening. The man hardly ever does wrong (like he does on his Autobiography). That’s why Human Knowledge, his last “big book” dealing with epistemology, is such a surprise. We’re sure more in-depth studies...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into No Joy / Sonic Boom’s self-titled 12” EP. Ever had one of those moments when you heard or read about a new musical project being entered by a couple of established musicians, got excited as your imagination began to run wild with the possibilities of what may come from the endeavor and then learned that you couldn’t have been more right when you got a taste of the music? It’s gratifying, isn’t...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Suffrage LP by Fucked and Bound. Full disclosure: on my first play through Suffrage, I accidentally had my turntable set to the incorrect speed. Because of that, my first judgement was that the band’s sound was thick, dark, sludgy and imposing – but it definitely piqued my interest and curiosity. I was fascinated by the hulking, demonic voice which dominated the song (“Similar to that of Roger Miret,” I thought) and...